5 captains with most overseas Test wins

Test cricket, the ultimate form of the game as considered by many, is the most challenging form of the game too. And the challenge grows more difficult when a team plays overseas in alien conditions which generally favour the home side. The toughest task a captain can get in Test cricket is winning overseas. Overseas wins are considered to be of ultimate importance, so much so that a captain's calibre is generally measured in terms of his overseas records.

The trend of the home team winning series after series is not something new in Test cricket. This has always been the case, except for brief periods in the 80s when West Indies were deadly and in the 2000s when the Aussies were invincibles. The ratio of overseas wins has fallen, drastically this decade, but the year 2018 saw some great turnarounds. Series wins by New Zealand in UAE, England in Sri Lanka and India in Australia were highlights of the year.

Over the years, visiting sides have been seen losing from winnable positions, crumbling under pressure in alien conditions. However, there have been teams and skippers who have fought against all odds and came out victorious on foreign soil. Here we look at five captains with most overseas Test wins.

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5. Allan Border (13)

The Aussie dominance that was seen in the 90s and 2000s had its roots from the Allan Border era of the late 80s. The second batsman to reach 10000 Test runs, Border was the backbone of the Aussie middle-order. He was someone who never backed away from taking gambles to win games and led from the front with his batting.

Under Border, Australia won 13 and lost 11 from a total of 42 overseas Tests. However there were not many series wins under Border to show for except for the Ashes, which he won twice (4-0 in 1989 and 4-1 in 1993). Though the numbers are not overly impressive, the fact that he led the turnaround of Aussie cricket makes his record creditworthy.

4. Steve Waugh (16)

Steve Waugh

The leader of the invincible Aussies, Steve Waugh stands fourth in the list of skipper's with most overseas wins. The legendary batsman had a record 16 consecutive victories in Test cricket, which was broken by India in the epic Eden Gardens Test in 2001. The inculcating of winning attitude in players was a major trait on Steve Waugh.

Out of 25 overseas Tests, Waugh emerged victorious in 16 of them while losing on just seven occasions. Sri Lanka and India were the only countries where he lost a series while winning in South Africa, West Indies, the Ashes in England and whitewashing in Zimbabwe and New Zealand. His last series as a skipper ended in a 1-1 draw in a four-match home series against India.

3. Ricky Ponting (18)

Ricky Ponting

That the Australians were invincibles in the early 2000s can be credited to Waugh, but that they continued their dominance should be credited to Ponting. Lucky to have the right man to take over the mettle from Waugh, Aussies under Ponting equalled the record of 16 consecutive Test wins, which was once again broken by India, this time at Perth in 2008. The highest run-getter for Aussies in Tests, Ponting was as aggressive and outspoken as his predecessor.

Under Ponting, Australia emerged victorious in almost all parts of the world. With 18 Test wins from 36 games which included 10 losses, Ponting led Australia to eight overseas series wins which included wins twice in South Africa and New Zealand and once in Sri Lanka, India West Indies and Bangladesh. Despite his outstanding record, the three Ashes losses remain the only downs in his captaincy career, including one at home in 2010-11.

2. Graeme Smith (22)

Graeme Smith

The man having the record of leading his side for the most number of Tests (109), Graeme Smith will go down as one of the greatest Test skippers ever. Getting the responsibility of captaining the Proteas at a young age of 22 in 2003, he went on to become someone who dismantled the Aussies to become the number one Test team in the world. The former opener who took over from Shaun Pollock post the World Cup debacle, Smith also holds the record for most Test wins (53).

Out of 52 overseas Tests under Smith, South Africa won which included series victories in Bangladesh, West Indies, England, Pakistan, Australia and England while drawing two series in India. He did not lose an overseas series after 2006, winning eight and drawing four. The incredible overseas run will go down as one of the best in the history of the game and Smith along with his team will go down as one of the best travelling teams in the history.

1. Clive Lloyd

Clive Lloyd

The two-time World Cup winning captain from West Indies, Clive Lloyd remains the most successful captain in terms of overseas wins. The former West Indies skipper who captained his side from 1974 to 1985, led the most feared side in the world consisting of deadly fast bowlers capable of tearing apart any opposition under any conditions.

Blessed with a number of match winners in his side, Lloyd also holds the record for the highest percentage of overseas Test wins, winning 23 out of 50 Tests and losing just 10. The only series lost under Lloyd was against Australia in 1975/76 and all other sides got beaten both home and away in this period. The tall fast bowlers and the fearsome batting unit which formed the golden era of West Indies cricket will go down as one of the best ever sides to take the field.